"Today, the attention and care given to football and sports in general by the country's leadership is at a high level. Because of this, our players now compete in a variety of sports and achieve great results."
Football veteran Adil Huseynov told Idman.biz.
In the 70s of the last century, the former football player, who played under the leadership of various coaches in "Neftchi", Araz of Nakhchivan and other clubs, spoke about the current state of the country's sports: "It has become a tradition to hold many world-famous tournaments in Azerbaijan. I believe that today's young people and athletes should feel happy. Because they are engaged in sports in Azerbaijan, which is different from us, has a strong economy and has spoken to the whole world. Perhaps today, we are one of the rare countries where the state supports sports so much. Undoubtedly, all this was not available in our time."
The veteran, who graduated from the Azerbaijan State University of Economics (now UNEC), the Azerbaijan State Institute of Physical Education (now Sports Academy), defended his dissertation in Moscow and received the degree of candidate of economic sciences, expressed his opinion on whether the head coach of our national team should be a local or foreign expert: "As we know, the national team must consist of the best players. Selection of the team is carried out by the head coach of the team. In my opinion, it is desirable that the head coach of the national team should also be a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan."
Huseynov, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan and associate professor of the Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), a member of the Narimanov district municipality of Baku city, also justified his opinion: "I am closely following the processes taking place in our football today, and as far as I know, AFFA is concerned with the problem of the head coach of the country's national team. will have to solve. A working group was also created to select a candidate for the head coach. It's no secret that the results achieved by the national team during the leadership of individual foreign coaches from 2008 to the end of 2023 showed that they are no better than our local specialists."
He said that a foreign specialist is an additional financial expense: "Generally, a foreign coach must get to know the football of that country before leading the national team. He must monitor the situation regularly and be aware of the capabilities of all players. The invited foreign coaches know practically nothing about our national championship. In order to communicate with local football players, they must be familiar with the national and moral values of the Azerbaijani people. But they are not interested in it. In addition, the head coach, who is invited in exchange for a high salary, brings his assistants as well, as a rule, from abroad, and inevitably additional financial costs arise here. It is possible that there are other points that I am not aware of, I am satisfied with the above-mentioned."
Huseynov nominated his own candidate for this position: "Azerbaijan currently has many talented and capable coaches, and the most experienced and influential one among them should be selected as the head coach of the national team. Let's agree that it would be fairer to appoint Gurban Gurbanov to this position. For many years, he has shown himself as an experienced, influential and successful coach. One of the arguments in favor of Gurbanov is his unique game philosophy. He will not waste time in explaining his demands in the national team. Gurbanov knows most of the players of the national team from training and games in Qarabag. In addition, Gurbanov's strength is that he is surrounded by like-minded people. I don't think he will have any problems with the national team. I think that the team management will not miss the coach who brought success to Qarabag with his many years of hard work. Therefore, as a compromise option, it would be possible to offer Gurban Gurbanov both positions - both national and Qarabag head coach. Of course, this is a heavy burden, but it is necessary to give this opportunity to a patriotic, successful and humble person, a talented coach. In solving this issue, the help of the country's sports administration is also needed."
The football veteran also noted his lack of personal acquaintance with Gurban Gurbanov: "I believe that the players of all the opposing teams will play with additional motivation against the coach who holds these two positions in the domestic championship, and they will try to prove that they deserve a place in the national team. In any case, the Executive Committee of AFFA has the final say in the selection of the candidate for the head coach of the national team."
He also noted that he has no personal acquaintance or relationship with Gurban Gurbanov.
Idman.biz